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Boil-in-bag goes high-tech (and haute cuisine)

by Jeff Dufour - 12/07/05 12:00 AM ET

In producing a truly sublime lamb dish from a traditionally inferior shoulder cut, Chef Fabio Trabocchi at Maestro does what would have been unthinkable among most classically trained chefs even a handful of years ago: He “Cryovacs” the meat (vacuum seals it in plastic) with all its marinades and flavor components and cooks it in a high-tech, low-temperature water bath for 36 hours.

Courtesy of Cuisine Solutions

A veal shank prepared with the sous vide technique by the chefs at Cuisine Solutions in Alexandria, Va.

This technique, known as “sous vide” (French for “under vacuum”), has been employed for nearly 20 years in the food-service industry for mass production of individual portions that can then be frozen and reheated without a noticeable loss in quality.

But over the past few years, several notable chefs around the country, including many in the Washington area, have begun applying sous vide techniques to high-end, gourmet gastronomy.

At Maestro, at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, Trabocchi currently has four sous vide machines — “like a small Jacuzzi bath,” he says — in his kitchen, with two more about to be installed.

Only three months after implementing the technique, about 40 percent of his menu now has a sous vide element. Among them are a monkfish terrine, braised veal tortellini, wild salmon with black truffles, roasted Muscovy duck and the lamb shoulder. Once cooked sous vide, the dishes are heated for plating by baking, saut

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